Republican House leaves for 6 days, neglecting to have that vote backing Trump on wall funding
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There was some big talk on Wednesday from House Republicans about how they totally have enough votes to approve the $5 billion in border wall funding Individual 1 is demanding the government be shut down over. They so much have all the Republican votes they nRepublican House leaves for 6 days, neglecting to have that vote backing Trump on wall funding
There was some big talk on Wednesday from House Republicans about how they totally have enough votes to approve the $5 billion in border wall funding Individual 1 is demanding the government be shut down over. They so much have all the Republican votes they need, they were definitely going to have a vote on that this week. Or not. They're leaving town today, with no votes scheduled now until next Wednesday afternoon, two days before the partial government shutdown deadline. They are on standby to return if needed. But they're not slinking off because they don't have the votes to back up Trump, Republicans insist. Nope, they could totally do it, they just don't see any point. «Do we have the votes for a measure that includes $5 billion for the wall? Yes,» says Rep. Patrick T. McHenry (R-NC), one of the leadership team, but «The question of whether to do it is a question of wisdom and strategy and tactics, and it’s highly debatable about whether that’s the right move.» Uh-huh. “They do not have the votes to pass the president's proposal,« Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said of the $5 billion wall plan. Believe her. If they had the votes, they would have passed it months ago. So they seem to be at an impasse, with nominal House Speaker Paul Ryan ditching any responsibility for getting a deal made in the next eight days. Trump isn't going to have the House backing him on his $5 billion demand, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, well, who knows what he's doing? He continues to offer nothing more than an oblique »I'm optimistic there won’t be a government shutdown.« But he's not scheduled to be talking to Trump, or anyone else, according to public schedules. About 75 percent of government is already funded, so maybe they just don't really give a damn. That's what Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) implies. “The fact is, the vast majority of the government is not going to be shut down under any scenario,» he rationalized. «So there's this little tiny sliver, and within that universe, anybody that is an essential employee still works. So I think this has all gotten a lot overblown.» That «tiny sliver» included tens of thousands of employees in Homeland Security, Interior, Agriculture, Justice, Commerce, Transportation and State departments and NASA. The essential employees in those departments would get the great Christmas present of having to show up for work and not getting paid for it. Maybe they all see room for Trump backing down with his latest about how Mexico is paying for the wall anyway except it's really still taxpayers who are on the hook because it's money we're «saving» because of his trade deal. What a stable genius to come up with that one. Read more